Is it me or does the Focus rock around a lot with high winds on freeways? Is it something that I just have to live with, since it's such a light car? I've been experiencing an insane amount of rocking recently, at speeds of only 75 MPH. The wheel unpredictably jerks to the left or right when I'm taking some slight corners, and I'm white knuckling the frickin' steering wheel just to keep it in line.

I don't think I've ever experienced this much violent rocking with the ZX3 before. I just had the sway bars tightened recently, a complete 4-wheel alignment, and a new set of Falken tires (which perform beautifully btw). But it seems like I can't get around to avoiding the wind. I was never a big fan of lowering the Focus, but I'm starting to reconsider it in hopes of experiencing less wind resistence.

Does anyone have any other ideas on how to improve handling in windy weather, aside from weighing the car down and killing my gas mileage? I have to say I'm really stumped, because I never experienced this much sensitivity to wind before with my other ZX3. In fact I managed a high altitude mountain trip doing 80 before with it. Now I can barely make it to 75 without some serious rocking and jerking.

EDIT: Hmm... I'm actually thinking that with the right side of my front bumper being loose, that might be causing some uneven airflow distribution and drag throughout the body of the car.

Firm shocks.
I've noticed this before (Alabama is not really known for high gusts, so you do notice when it happens) but haven't really noticed since I put the Konis on. So...

A. It's a good excuse to do something awesome
B. If you get springs too it will make your car look great and it's a lot of fun, too
C. If it doesn't work, you will still have a lot of fun with it, especially if you've ever considered autocrossing

i don't think the bumper has anything to do with it, cuz i have the same problem... i don't know if it's as bad as that, but i definitely know the car sways when a gust of wind pounds it on the open freeway (no trees blocking the wind)... as for the Falken tires.. yes, i loved them too... but for some reason after 15,000 miles i already had to buy two new tires cuz they were pretty worn (definitely not safe for any kind of snow weather)... I'll probably get 4 new tires after i do my suspension... I'm thinkin' full coilovers...

mine gets knocked around also. but i don't see it as a big problem. light car, high wind and you're gonna get knocked around. especially if the wind is hitting you sideways. i don't see it as a problem. Sami truck is a semi truck and it gets pretty good banging.

I don't know if it helps you, but my car used to feel like it was gusty out on the highway, but it was actually my egr.
When I got the egr deactivated, it was smooth sailing. Just some food for thought.

Firm shocks.
I've noticed this before (Alabama is not really known for high gusts, so you do notice when it happens) but haven't really noticed since I put the Konis on. So...

A. It's a good excuse to do something awesome
B. If you get springs too it will make your car look great and it's a lot of fun, too
C. If it doesn't work, you will still have a lot of fun with it, especially if you've ever considered autocrossing

Firm shocks, you say? Do you think if I got the SVT suspension kit it might help? And this might sound stupid, but would a spoiler/wing actually help in this situation? I've never been a fan of them, but if they do help push the car down against the road, I'd think that might help against the rocking. But I was always under the impression that factory installed spoilers/wings were nonfunctional for most cars.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Ford Focus Forum, Ford Focus ST Forum, Ford Focus RS Forum forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.